A-Rod Benched for Decisive Yankees Game

Yankees start Alex Rodriguez reacts after striking out against the Orioles in Game 3. He will start Game 5 on the bench.

For the Yankee’s climactic Game 5 on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles, Alex Rodriguez will sit the bench while Eric Chavez gets the start at third base.

The move to the bench marks the culmination of three days in which the team made previously unthinkable choices to get Rodriguez out of playoff games. Yankees manager Joe Girardi pinch hit for his $30 million ex-slugger in the final innings of games on Wednesday and Thursday, and he has now gone the extra mile and removes the struggling star from the starting lineup.

Rodriguez went along with the move without complaint, though he was not pleased.

“Obviously I’m not happy. I was disappointed. I wanted to be in there in the worst way,” Rodriguez said.

Girardi understood why. ”The man has a lot of pride and the man has accomplished a lot in his career,” he said. “I’m sure it’s not easy. I mean, imagine if you’re in his shoes. Everyone wants to be in it.”

The Yankees and the Orioles have split the first four games of the five-game series, and Rodriguez has been near-useless so far. He has gone 2-for-16 with nine strikeouts while looking lost against right-handed pitching.

The Yankees have five years and roughly $150 million remaining in their commitment to 37-year-old Rodriguez, but Girardi insisted that he can’t worry about how his decision will do to his relationship with his lightning-rod third baseman.

“You can’t think about that now,” Girardi said. “You got to think about winning a game. This is not June. This is October.”

Rodriguez maintained that he is not upset with his manager and is only looking inward. “It’s never about Joe,” Rodriguez said. “I always have to look in the mirror, and do what I can do to do the best I can. Don’t assume you’ve heard the last from us — or me.”

Rodriguez hit .272 with 18 home runs in 57 RBI in 122 games this season, missing a month with a broken hand. His .783 On-Base plus Slugging Percentage was the lowest since 1995, his rookie year.